One of Elon Musk’s companies, The Boring Company, wants to build a facility for dumping treated wastewater in Texas. However, as reported by Business Insider, many Texans are not happy with the plan and have spoken out against it.
The tunnel-digging company applied for a permit last year using a different entity, Gapped Bass LLC, to develop a site allowing it to dump more than 140,000 gallons of treated wastewater from its Bastrop plant into the Colorado River. However, before that, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality opened an investigation into how The Boring Company has been handling its wastewater after receiving three complaints.
Earlier this week, some Bastrop residents met with the TCEQ and The Boring Company, where they publicly commented on the proposed project. Another resident Chap Ambrose had launched a “Keep Bastrop Boring” campaign.
Ambrose admitted being a fan of Elon Musk but felt The Boring Company was flouting the law. According to his Twitter post, about 400 people were on hand to attend the meeting, but about half were turned back due to a lack of space.
Ambrose accused Musk of placing speed over everything. He said, “I don’t know if ya’ll heard it as clearly as I did, but the reason they want to discharge treated wastewater into the river, is because they can’t wait 24 months for that pipe to be run and the permanent infrastructure setup.”
Ambrose is referring to the $32.6 million wastewater treatment plant Bastrop started building in 2021.
A representative of Gapped Bass, Rajit Patel, admitted The Boring Company was using the application as a short-term plan, and the capacity being planned might not be fully utilized. He also said his company’s waste would eventually be sent to Bastrop’s treatment plant. SpaceX would also use the proposed facility to dispose of its waste despite not being mentioned in the application.
The Boring Company was rumored to be building housing development for its staff in Bastrop. SpaceX is also developing a site in the county.
